


And Your Number

by blueblue1965



Series: coffee shop au [2]
Category: Formula 1 RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, M/M, long ass coffee orders, mainly fluff, still unable to tag things properly, tiniest amount of angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-23
Updated: 2020-08-23
Packaged: 2021-03-06 20:01:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,847
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26064679
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/blueblue1965/pseuds/blueblue1965
Summary: Dan comes back to the coffee shop and Max panics a little.(Part two of A Grande Iced Sugar-Free Vanilla Latte with Soy Milk)
Relationships: Daniel Ricciardo/Max Verstappen, Lewis Hamilton/George Russell (implied)
Series: coffee shop au [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1892128
Comments: 6
Kudos: 114





	And Your Number

**Author's Note:**

  * For [greeny1710](https://archiveofourown.org/users/greeny1710/gifts).



> Everyone screamed at me to write a second part but Kai screamed the loudest so this one is for you bro 💙
> 
> I also had to sneak my new favourite pair into this.
> 
> Enjoy x

"A Grande Iced Sugar-Free Vanilla Latte with Soy Milk and your number please."

Max's brain short circuits at these words and he is left gaping like a fish on dry land. Dan came back. After four months. 

The man in front of him is not his Dan though.

It's Daniel Ricciardo, Formula 1 driver and multiple race winner this season (not that Max kept track of that). And Daniel Ricciardo comes into this coffee shop and asks him, Max Verstappen, for his phone number. 

It's fair to say Max does the only reasonable thing at the moment. Turning around and hiding in the staff room, having a quiet breakdown all by himself.  
But he's not as alone as he thought he was because the door swings open in that exact moment. Max doesn't know if he should laugh or cry when he recognises Dilara arriving for her shift.

It's not the first time that Max had a breakdown in the coffee shop (usually they're a little bit smaller though). When he motions for her to go outside, she doesn't bat an eye. She takes the apron from one of the hangers and rushes out of the staff room. The last thing he hears is her cheerful apology before the door slams shut.

Meanwhile, Max tries to calm his breathing down while simultaneously trying to figure out what exactly made him panic.

"You won't guess who's outside!" Dilara chirps once she comes in again. 

"Daniel Ricciardo?", Max asks sarcastically. 

For a second, she just stares at him before a concerned expression replaces the smile on her face.

"What happened?"

"Okay so he came in and placed his usual order," he looks up to see her nodding along, "and then he asked me for my number."

"That's great!" She starts smiling, but when she sees Max's expression, the smile drops again. "Okay not great then. What's the problem?"

"He's famous."

"And?"

"He is _famous_ ", he repeats as if Dilara didn't catch it the first time, "also way out of my league."

"And he asked you for your number, so stop with this out of your league bullshit", she says firmly. Max just buries his face in his hands.

"He's still here by the way."

Max's head snaps up to stare at Dilara for a few seconds before he scrambles to his feet and to the door. Through the smallest gap, he takes a peek into the cafe. 

Daniel is still there sitting at one of the tables, facing the counter and waiting. From where Max is standing, he can see the driver perfectly but is still hidden from his eyes.

If he had a little bit more courage, Max would go out there, smoothly slide his number across the table and they would end up dating by next week. Well, Max can't remember a time where he has ever been smooth in his life. Let alone courageous. 

He keeps watching as a student approaches Daniel and shyly asks for an autograph. Daniel gives her his signature bright smile and Max just sighs. 

He can't do this. He can't date someone famous, especially not someone like Daniel Ricciardo. Dilara gives him a sad smile as he grabs his jacket and hurries out of the backdoor.

On his way back to his flat, he let's different scenarios play over and over again in his head. What if he dated Daniel? 

He doesn't want to end up being a groupie spending a night in his bed and being dropped afterwards. Neither does he want to watch Daniel jet around the world, meet all kinds of gorgeous people and forget about Max. His heart wouldn't know how to handle that.

That's how he ends up face planting onto the sofa, groaning his frustration out in the pillows and with Lando throwing him pitiful looks. Max is pretty sure Dilara already updated him on everything anyway, so there is no need to tell him that whole story again.

Lando, the good friend that he is, feeds him chocolate ice cream later that evening.

***

On the next day, Max wakes up feeling like shit. He just wants to bury himself in his blankets and pretend the outside world doesn't exist but after a five-minute debate with his mirror self, he decides to go to work anyway. 

Yesterday it was pitiful glances but today Dilara only throws judging glares his way.

"He waited over an hour for you to come out and looked like a kicked puppy", she tells him before she ends her shift and leaves Max alone with his thoughts.

Did he do Daniel dirty? Maybe the driver was serious about wanting his number (and probably dating him).

However, Max doesn't have much time to think about it as a new customer comes strolling in. Although strolling is maybe the wrong word, it's more about making an entrance. 

Look, Max doesn't know a whole lot about Formula 1 drivers but that guy clearly is one. He's wearing a scarlet red shirt with a matching red cap and sunglasses that hide his eyes. Following behind is a woman in a similar shirt and a man that seems to be some kind of security guard. 

Seb may want to rethink his advertising by the frequency Formula 1 drivers visit this place. 

The guy leans against the counter, not paying any attention to Max as he reads the menu boards on the wall behind him. 

"I'll take a Trenti iced coffee, 12 pumps of sugar-free vanilla, 12 pumps sugar-free hazelnut, 12 pumps sugar-free caramel, 5 pumps skinny mocha and a splash of soy. Make it double-blended." He finally spares Max a look and if he wasn’t a customer, Max would've loved to wipe that arrogant look off of his face. "Can you do that, cherí?"

Max inwardly rolls his eyes but gives the guy his customer-friendly smile. 

"Sure", he says and starts preparing the drink.

"So you are Barista Max."

Max whips around and stares at the driver in front of him. He took off his sunglasses and Max finally recognises him from the few videos he watched. 

_Charles Leclerc._

"You're that guy Dan can't shut up about", he says in that ridiculous French accent of his.

Max almost drops the drink while he can only stare at Charles. Okay, he gets it now, he fucked up.  
Now if the universe could tell him a way to fix everything too, that would be great.

Charles keeps smiling sweetly as Max places the cup on the counter. Just as Max thought that would be it, Charles grabs his wrist and pulls him forward, getting right into Max's personal space.

"If you break his heart, I can assure you that's not the only thing that will be broken."

Naturally, Max knows it's a useless threat, Charles wouldn't be able to do something anyway. Still, his cold voice is sending shivers down Max’s spine.

"Understood?" Max can only nod. The sweet smile is back on Charles' face in a second.

Max throws a quick side glance to the woman but she seems to be used to these kinds of things which makes Max question the sanity of the whole racing team.

Charles does a weird thing with his eyes before he leaves and only when the door shuts, Max realises he tried to wink.  
Right now he doesn't care about Charles' failed winking though. More significant problems are laying ahead of him. 

How do you reach one Daniel Ricciardo?

***

Twitter doesn't work, Max tried it immediately after Charles left, but Mr Ricciardo has his DMs deactivated. Somehow that was all that he could think of, so Plan B now consists of sulking on the sofa while eating even more chocolate ice cream.

Right now, he is just waiting for Lando to come home. Max doesn't like to admit it but the younger one has more brain cells than he does. Maybe he has an idea.

When Lando comes home and sees Max he lets out an overdramatic sigh before getting a second spoon and dropping next to him on the sofa.

"Spill."

"Long story short, Daniel apparently kept waiting for me yesterday and today _Charles fucking Leclerc_ came in and threatened to break my neck if I break Daniel’s heart. And now I don't know what to do because he probably thinks I'm an asshole." Max takes a deep breath feeling the tears stinging in his eyes.

"Also how do I even reach him? It's not like I can just turn up at the race track and be like _'Hi Daniel Ricciardo wanted my number can I talk to him?'_ because that would just make me look like a fucking stalker or something."

He buries his head in Lando's hoodie and just lets the tears fall. Why does this have to be so complicated? Max feels stupid right now but most importantly he feels like he messed up beyond repair. 

"Did you try sliding into his DMs?" Lando asks, rubbing comforting circles over Max's back.

"Didn't work", he mumbles. 

They try coming up with a plan but nothing seems to make sense and the probability of working is close to zero with most of them.

"Okay we go to the race then", Lando announces confidentiality. 

Max raises his eyebrow and looks at Lando as if the younger one has lost his mind.

"I think I may know someone who can get us into the paddock."

"You know someone that can get us into the paddock?" Max doesn't sound too convinced.

"Well, George does."

"George? How?"

"It's complicated." Lando waves dismissively and that is all in terms of an explanation. 

***

Max doesn't know how but George managed to get all three of them VIP tickets. 

It's Saturday and to say Max is nervous is an understatement. He watches how Lando excitedly takes pictures with everyone while George and himself try to get past unseen.

"So are you going to explain to me how you got these tickets or not?", Max asks after a few minutes of silent walking. 

George looks a little panicked, trying not to look at Max or anywhere in general. He ends up staring at his feet and mumbling something along the lines of "it's complicated."

Max sighs and tries not to be disappointed by getting the same answer Lando gave him a few days ago. It bothers him to not be in on the secret but he has far more important stuff to deal with right now. For once, he just drops it.

He keeps looking for Daniel but the man in question is nowhere to be seen. Slowly Max starts to feel anxious again. Maybe this was a bad idea. What if Daniel doesn't want to see him?

Lando snaps him out of these thoughts by forcefully bumping against his side. Max smiles down at him and takes a deep breath himself. Everything will be alright. 

They keep walking, George leading them straight to the Mercedes garage. Some of the mechanics look at them funny and Max can tell that George feels extremely uncomfortable standing there.

Just as he wants to complain though, that (and he knows that much) Daniel doesn't drive for Mercedes, an excited "George!" makes them all turn around.

George starts beaming and falls into the arms of the person who just arrived. The hug lasts a little bit too long to be pure friendship and Max starts to have questions.  
As the mysterious person reveals themself to be _Lewis Hamilton_ of all people the questions in Max's head double in numbers. 

"Max is looking for Daniel. Do you know where he is?" George asks softly. 

"Barista Max?" Lewis watches him in interest. Just now Max wonders how many people Daniel told about Barista Max. Instead of saying something he just nods though.

"Maybe. Come on." Lewis gives him a warm smile and starts walking to the motorhomes. Max guesses that's the place where their VIP tickets usually wouldn't get them in but people don't seem to mind when they notice that Lewis is with them.

Lando takes his hand before Max feels the anxiety creeping through his bones which makes him take a deep breath, trying to calm his nerves. This time he won't run away because he actually wants this.

Meanwhile, Lewis stopped in front of one the motorhomes, knocking confidentially on its door and well okay. Maybe Max panics a little.

"Lewis?", a confused looking Daniel Ricciardo opens the door. His eyes widen when he recognises Max in the little group and he lets out a surprised gasp as well. 

"Max?"

"Hey", Max says, immediately feeling stupid. Great, he goes to his crush (who he more or less rejected) and says hey. This doesn't get him a podium finish in terms of flirting. 

Daniel is still staring, seeming surprised? Angry? Shocked? Look Max can't read emotions so he nervously starts shifting from on leg to the other.

"I- eh."

Lando pushes Max forward at the same time as George mumbles "Maybe we should give them some alone time."

So now they're alone, staring at each other in front of the Aussie's motorhome. The awkward silence seems to last for hours before Daniel has the brilliant idea of maybe going inside. 

Now they're sitting in awkward silence in the tiny living room space, which is debatable not so much better either.

"Daniel-"

"Max-"

More silence in which Max blushes furiously and Daniel sends him a quick smile.

"You go first."

Max takes another deep breath, throwing all the plans he made for this conversation out of the window and just starts talking.

"Look, Daniel, I'm so sorry, I acted like a proper asshole but I just panicked back then. I know that's not a proper excuse and when Dilara told me you kept waiting for me, I really wanted to slap myself. You're an incredible person that doesn't deserve to be stood up. I'm so so sorry, you must think I'm a proper dick right now and-"

Max doesn't get any further. The words get stuck in his throat as he sinks back onto the leader sofa. He didn't even realise he stood up during his outburst of emotions. 

Daniel doesn't say anything, he just keeps staring at Max, mouth opening and closing as if he can’t find the right words to say.

The longer the silence stretches out, the more tears gather in Max's eyes, threatening to spill over if he wouldn't wipe them away every few seconds.

"Max I-, I'm sorry I didn't know I made you uncomfortable", he says softly, as if Max is a wild animal he doesn't want to spook. 

"It's just- you're Daniel Ricciardo and you asked for my number and I think that thought just freaked me out." His voice is barely audible but Daniel seems to understand him anyway. Carefully he takes Max's trembling hands in his own and smiles softly.

"Daniel Ricciardo didn't ask for your number. With you, it's just Dan and that guy couldn't get you out of his head for the last few months."

Not knowing what to say, Max can only watch how Daniel’s eyes wander down to look at their hands, a little chuckle escaping his lips.

"Dan is an idiot most of the time but he would still like to have your number", he takes a deep breath and searches for Max's eyes, "if you're comfortable with that."

Max feels way too emotional for a question as simple as 'can I have your number'. He nods furiously, quickly taking out the crumpled piece of paper he stored in his pocket this morning. 

"Here", he mumbles and feels the blush creep upon his cheeks. Daniel- Dan (his Dan) starts beaming, almost knocking Max off the sofa with how much force he starts hugging him.

Max can feel his heart beating faster and he starts smiling too. Deep down in his stomach, this feels right. So incredibly right.

***

It's Sunday and Max is at the track again. After yesterday's mission he wouldn't have guessed to come back so quickly but Dan asked him to go and cheer for him and who is Max to deny him that.

He stays in the garage, mostly hidden by the cameras. The warm, fuzzy feeling that spreads through him every time they show Dan on screen makes him smile. Max would have never thought but he finds himself cheering along with the team when Dan manages to overtake Lewis for P1 in the last five laps.

Dan crosses the finish line and the whole garage erupts in screams and cheers. Max might scream the loudest.

Later Dan comes in, all sticky and covered in champagne. He picks Max up effortlessly, spinning him around and kissing him on the cheek. Dan hesitates for a second, searching for any sight of discomfort in Max’s eyes before leaning in and pressing a soft kiss to the younger one's lips.

It's soft and with way too much champagne involved but Max doesn't want to miss the feeling of butterflies going nuts in his stomach ever again.

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you enjoyed this little mess of mine.
> 
> Once again thanks to Marla for beta reading, you are the best 💙
> 
> I'm blueblue1965 on tumblr x


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